Wednesday, October 17, 2012

HOUSE and HOUSEWIFE - A Naval Yarn

Whenever I muse over the timeline of my life and ask myself which were the best days of my life, there is only one answer – my Navy days.

I will never forget those glorious Navy days – the best period in my life.

My early days in the Navy, in the 1970s and 1980s, were indeed the happiest days of my life. No doubt about it. The Navy was an exciting place to be in, life was good and there was never a dull moment. Something was always happening, and I came across a variety of unique personalities – yes, exciting situations and inimitable characters.

Young officers were expected to “Jack of all Trades and Master of One”.

Unlike most of our civilian counterparts we were not put into a professional straitjacket but encouraged to develop multifarious skills and “Officer Like Qualities” (OLQ) which resulted in a well-rounded personality.

Hence, during my career in the Navy I had to do a lot of “bum jobs” like Mess Secretary, Wine Secretary, Food and Snack Bar Manager, Officer in Charge Poultry and Piggery, Officer in Charge of Dairy and Grow More Food Farms, Sports Manager, Audit and Accounts, Librarian, Event Manager and Organizer of all sorts of events ranging from Parties and Balls to Melas and Fleet Family Days. These jobs were in addition to our professional work and we were expected to excel in both our professional and extra-curricular duties.

On one such occasion I was a member of a Quartering Committee whose task was to allot houses and deal with all housing matters.

There was a rule that a you could ask for a change of house after you had lived in a particular house for six months.

Owning to the acute shortage of accommodation, it took almost an year to be allotted your proper entitled accommodation and since a tenure in a station was about three years most officers just stayed on in the house allotted to them for the remaining two years till they were transferred out.

Only if there were very serious problems did someone ask for a change of house since relocating was quite a laborious and painful task and involved a lot of hassles like shifting your bag and baggage, disconnection and connection of electricity, cooking gas, informing one and all of the change of address, change of school bus for the kids and getting the house done up etc. So everyone preferred to stay on in whichever house they were given till they were transferred out.

“R” was different. He religiously applied for a change of accommodation the moment six months were over.

Actually he was so lucky to have been allotted a lovely sea facing flat on Marine Drive but the moment six months were over he applied for a change of accommodation.

“Why?” I asked him, “You have the best place. It is near your office, your kids’ school bus picks them up from your doorstep, it is so well connected, and look at the fantastic location – the best in Mumbai…”

“My wife doesn’t like the house. She says there is too much noise from the traffic. She wants a change,” he said.

He was allotted a house in Malabar Hill – an independent bungalow. Everyone said he was so lucky to get a huge mansion in a prime locality.

After six months he asked for a change.

“Why?” I asked him, “Last time you changed because of the traffic noise. I am sure the bungalow must be quiet and peaceful.”

“That’s the problem. My wife is fed up of the silence and she complains that she feels too lonely. There are no neighbours, no friends.”

We gave him a house in a multi-storey apartment block in the main township where there would be plenty of neighbours and friends and all the facilities.

Six months later, he again applied for a change. He told me that his wife said the place was too crowded and there was no privacy.

This went on and on, as his wife was never satisfied with any house. She always found some fault or the other.

When he applied for a change for the sixth time I could not contain myself any longer so I bluntly told him: “Listen to me. Don’t bother changing your house every time.Instead of changing your house just change your wife. With a good wife any house will be good and with a wife like yours, even the best house will be hell…”

“R” never talked to me after that. But someone told me that he did indeed heed my advice and now he never asks for a change of accommodation.

Think about it, Dear Reader.

Harmony is the sine qua non for a happy and content life.

It is inner peace that matters.

If you want to enjoy music, even the best and most expensive music system is useless if your mind is disturbed. But if you are at peace with yourself you can enjoy music even on a simple radio - like I enjoy those melodious oldie-goldies on Vividh Bharati on my simple cell-phone radio.

If you feel unhappy, frustrated or if you are not able to enjoy the feast of life to its fullest, you must introspect and get down to the root cause instead of short term peripheral quick-fix solutions.

And if you don't like your home, you know what to do - just change your wife.

Now that you know the secret of how to make your home a Happy Home, any House can be a Happy Home.

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

About Me

A creative person with a zest for
life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated
at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School
Pune, Vikram has published two books:COCKTAILa collection of fiction short stories about relationships
(2011) andAPPETITE FOR A STROLLa
book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel, writing short fiction and compiling his memoirs. An avid
blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative
non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, books, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories, self help and art of living essays in magazines and journals and published a number of professional research papers and reviews and edited in-house magazines and journals for many years, before the advent
of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to
creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse -
his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative
thoughts.